LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: Princeton University baseball player Jake Koonin makes a play in the infield in recent action. Junior infielder and leadoff hitter Koonin has helped the Tigers get off to a solid 4-2 start in Ivy League action. Princeton, now 7-18 overall, plays at Seton Hall on April 2 before heading to Penn for a three-game series with a doubleheader on April 5 and a single game on April 6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Justin Feil

Jake Koonin is not the first guy in his family to lead off for the Princeton University baseball team.

Koonin’s dad, Jason, hit atop the lineup for the Tigers before graduating in 1999.

The similarities don’t end there. Both have been strong, fast players for Princeton head coach Scott Bradley, who is now in his 28th season guiding the Tiger program. He took over in the elder Koonin’s final year.

“The dad was a good player,” said Bradley.

Jason Koonin was an outfielder who was a terror on the bases. His 36 career steals were tied for sixth in the Princeton record books when he graduated. He also hit .287 for his career and had 100 hits along with 70 runs. He ended up raising a family in North Carolina and he’d take his three boys to games when Princeton played in that area.

“I watched Jake and his brothers running around on the warning track, throwing stones at each other from the time they were probably 6, 7, or 8 years old,” said Bradley. “They came up to our camp and did stuff like that and it’s worked out.”

The younger Koonin was hoping he could play at Princeton and it became a reality two years ago. The junior infielder is making history as the first son of a Princeton player that Bradley coached to also play for him.

“I can vividly remember watching them when I was like 10,” said Jake Koonin. a 6’0, 195-pound native of Winston Salem, N.C. “And then now it’s come full circle to where Bradley knew me from my dad, now he knows me from playing here, so that was definitely is cool and definitely played a role in why I came here.”

Koonin also came with the idea that he’d do something that his dad never could. Koonin is hoping to lead Princeton to an Ivy League championship. The Tigers won four straight following his father’s graduation as Bradley built up the program. The Tigers are looking for their first Ivy crown since 2016.

“My dad had a lot of success here, but he never won the Ivy League championship,” said Jake. “I think he came in second three straight years, so that was one thing — I want to win a championship because my dad didn’t.”

Princeton sits in a three-way tie for second place in the Ivy League at 4-2. They swept Dartmouth to open conference play and then this past weekend took a dramatic 3-2 win over Columbia on a two-run homer in the eighth inning by Caden Shapiro, to salvage one game of the three-game series with the current Ivy leading-Lions (5-1 Ivy).

“I think if you told us that would be our record after two weeks in conference play, especially against Columbia who we think is right up there with us being at the top, being 4-2 I think that’s a great start,” said Koonin. “Especially because we’ve had some injuries. I think our starting rotation has definitely been our strongest part, being 4-2 with our starters leading the way and honestly our bats not being where we would like them to be is a great indicator that we’ve got a lot left in the tank.”

Princeton will head on the road this week with a midweek non-conference game at Seton Hall on April 2 before starting a three-game series at Penn with a doubleheader on April 5 and a single game a day later. The Quakers are also 4-2 Ivy.

“The goal is just to play a complete weekend,” said Koonin. “I think getting the bats started in game one would be huge. They’ve lost a lot, but they’re still, in our eyes, the team that’s eliminated us the last two years. So we definitely have different feelings going into the weekend against Penn, especially at their place. We’re looking to take the series and hopefully even sweep.”

Getting the bats going starts with Koonin. He’s been giving the offense a lift over his two and a half seasons while starting at second base. He started as a freshman before an injury cost him time. He returned last year to enjoy a stellar year at the plate. He led the Tigers with a .319 batting average. He also posted team-highs of 41 runs batted in, 86 total bases, a .528 slugging percentage and 11 stolen bases.

“He’s talented,” said Bradley. “He’s strong, he can run, and he loves baseball. That’s probably the biggest thing. When you spend time around Jake, what you realize more than anything is he loves the game, loves being around it, loves to play, loves to compete.”

Koonin hit fifth or sixth last year for the Tigers, but Bradley moved him up to the leadoff spot this season.

“We have to try to bunch our better guys up to try to manipulate some runs,” said Bradley. “We figured Jake runs well, move him to the top and see how it goes. And plus you get more at bats. So we want the top three guys to be getting the majority of the at bats.”

Koonin picked up where he left off — literally. He finished last year on a 20-game hitting streak, tied for the program record.

“I honestly did not know I had it until I was going into the Ivy League tournament,” said Koonin. “I want to say it got to like 17 games before I realized it. I obviously was seeing the ball well and I felt like I was swinging well, but I had no idea that it had been 17 games, which feels like about half the season.”

His hot hitting didn’t end there. He broke the Princeton mark at the start of this year when he got a hit in each of the first two games of the season.

“It’s a cool statistic because it’s one that is only helping the team,” said Koonin. “It’s not like I’m trying to, go out of my way to increase a personal accolade to help only myself.”

Koonin continues to lead Princeton in hitting. He’s batting .274 with four doubles, three triples and four home runs. He’s batted in 11 runs while adjusting to hitting leadoff, which he last did regularly in high school. His maturity has helped him handle the process of developing as a consistent hitter even as teams give him fewer fastballs overall and fewer good pitches to hit in big spots.

“It’s been good, both physically and on a different type of way,” said Koonin. “Whether it’s being a leader on the field or a hitter, I think the best way to get better is just through experience and the way that I approach the game from a physical and mental aspect is just at such a higher level than my freshman year, just because I’ve played all of last year and this summer in between my freshman and sophomore year and then this past summer.”

Koonin wants to remain around the game beyond Princeton. He will be draft eligible this year, and would love a shot at playing professional baseball. Even if that doesn’t happen, though he has a plan.

“I want to be in baseball, no matter what,” said Koonin. “So if I’m not playing, then I want to work up to be a general manager or something on the analytical side. So baseball definitely is what I want my future to be wrapped around.”

His personal goal, though, has always been to get a chance as a player first.

“The best case scenario is we win the Ivy League tournament and regular season and I have a good year,” said Koonin. “And then I could see my name get drafted. But I mean right now the goal is just to do whatever I can to help the team and hopefully in that it helps my stock.”

He’s continuing to ensure that the Koonin name will be remembered long after he graduates. He’s done so by bringing to the current Princeton team some of the same attributes that his father did more than a quarter-century ago for Bradley and the Tigers.

“It’s a great, great, great family,” said Bradley. “And Jake’s a very good player.”